A Screaming Comes Across the Sky

[Alexey86]

Hello! This headline comes from an article about the Chelyabinsk meteor (https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/2013/10/22/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/). I see several options to describe the first moment of the event:

"Blah, blah, blah... and then suddenly:
1) a scream comes across the sky.
2) a screaming comes across the sky.
3) screaming comes across the sky.
4) a scream of a meteor comes across the sky.
5) the scream of a meteor comes across the sky.
6) a screaming of a meteor comes across the sky.
7) the screaming of a meteor comes across the sky."

My questions are:

1) What is(are) the most natural variant(s)? I suppose (4 - 7) are less natural/logical, since no one really knows how meteors sound.
2) What is the difference in meaning between (1) and (2) on the one hand, and between (2) and (3) on the other. The difference between (1) and (3) is quite clear.
3) What difference does it make whether we choose "a" or "the" in (4 - 7) in terms of meaning?

 

[Tdol]

I would use something like a screaming noise.

 

[Alexey86]

I still hope someone answers all three questions.

 

[jutfrank]

1) I don't understand this question. What do you mean by the 'most natural'? The writer did not fail to include the word meteor because he thought it would be unnatural or illogical.

2) I'd say that the -ing form is suggestive that the sound was protracted, going on for a period much longer than the scream of a person, say.

3) The use of a singular countable noun phrase in 2 suggests that the sound can be imagined to be a single thing. That is, with a marked beginning and end. An uncountable noun here would not have such an effect.

The noun phrase being a singular countable gerund is the best way of allowing the reader to imagine a single sound lasting for several seconds.

 

[Alexey86]

1) I don't understand this question. What do you mean by the 'most natural'?

Jutfrank, I just don't know how to put it simpler. I've laid out seven variants. I'd like to know which of them sound most natural, given the meteor context.

And what do you think the difference between "a screaming of a meteor" and "the screaming..." is?

 

[GoesStation]

And what do you think the difference between "a screaming of a meteor" and "the screaming..." is?

The first is ungrammatical.

 

[jutfrank]

Jutfrank, I just don't know how to put it simpler. I've laid out seven variants. I'd like to know which of them sound most natural, given the meteor context.

I mean that I don't know why you would ask such a question. The actual sentence used is number 2, so how could that possibly not be the most natural? The article you linked briefly talks about why this is such a good headline.

Apparently I don't understand what you mean by 'most natural'. They could all be the most natural in the right context (numbers 4 and 6 are a bit harder to imagine) but as a headline for this article, number 2 is the best.

Does that answer your question?

 

[Alexey86]

The actual sentence used is number 2, so how could that possibly not be the most natural?

I see. You're right. I should have put the question this way, "What are the less natural variants?"

The first is ungrammatical.

Why is that? I'll explain how I see the difference. "The screaming of a meteor" means a particular kind of screaming, thus, speaking that, one shows his/her ability to identify this type, which is unlikely, since no one really knows what particular type of sound meteors produce. "A screaming of a meteor" in turn implies that one at first identifies an instance of screaming and only after that attributes it to a particular meteor, which is more plausible and corresponds to reality.

 

[GoesStation]

"A screaming of a meteor" in turn implies that one at first identifies an instance of screaming and only after that attributes it to a particular meteor, which is more plausible and corresponds to reality.

I called it ungrammatical because it uses "screaming" as a countable noun. It isn't.

 

[Alexey86]

But it can be used countably. https://ludwig.guru/s/a+screaming+comes

 

[GoesStation]

But it can be used countably. https://ludwig.guru/s/a+screaming+comes

Your link shows that it has been used countably — once, by the novelist Thomas Pynchon, who's known for his torturous syntax.

Language is fluid, and it's not impossible that this usage will catch on. But for now, you should avoid it.

 

[jutfrank]

I'll explain how I see the difference. "The screaming of a meteor" means a particular kind of screaming, thus, speaking that, one shows his/her ability to identify this type

Yes, that's exactly right.

which is unlikely, since no one really knows what particular type of sound meteors produce.

That doesn't matter. As you say, it's about type. The reader can imagine what it sounds like.

"A screaming of a meteor" in turn implies that one at first identifies an instance of screaming and only after that attributes it to a particular meteor ...

Yes.

... which is more plausible and corresponds to reality.

I disagree there.

I called it ungrammatical because it uses "screaming" as a countable noun. It isn't.

I can't guess why you'd think so. It is a countable noun. You can tell by the indefinite article.

There's nothing ungrammatical about the sentence, unlikely though it may be.

 

[Alexey86]

Your link shows that it has been used countably — once

National Geographic also has used it countably.

That doesn't matter. As you say, it's about type. The reader can imagine what it sounds like.

Well, if someone asked me to describe such an event, I wouldn't try to imagine anything, in contrast, I would just go along the timeline: I hear a screaming -> I see a smoke trail in the sky -> I attribute these both to a meteor = "... and then, a screaming of a meteor comes across the sky" or "...the screaming of the meteor..." if it has been mentioned before.